Firefighters’ Day in Iran Date in the current year: September 29, 2024

The active development of Iran’s fire and rescue service in its modern form began in 1980 because of tragic events in the history of Iran. During the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War that began on September 22, 1980, numerous Iranian cities were attacked by the Iraqi Air Force. Bomb explosions lead to destructive fires that aggravated the damage caused by bombings.

One of the cities that suffered the most was Abadan, largely due to its location near the Iraq-Iran border. Its civilian population dropped close to zero during the first 6 years of the war. However, the well-coordinated work of the city’s firefighters allowed to save a significant portion of the infrastructure and reduce destruction, so that when the fighting subsided, the residents began to return.

In 2000, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution declared September 20 as Firefighters’ Day in order to raise public awareness about the hard work of fiirefighters and their fearlessness in the face of danger. Since 2017, it has also served as a memorial day for all the firefighters who perished in the line of duty, including 20 firefighters who were killed in the Plasco Building fire in Tehran on January 19, 2017.